from Fijilive - Prominent human rights activist Shamima Ali was stopped by the interim administration as she prepared to board a flight to Australia on Monday night after her name was found on a travel ban list. 
 

She said she has been out of the country three times since the coup without problems and  the travel ban seems to have been issued after she arrived at the airport. 
 

Ali is one of a growing number of prominent people who have discovered they are banned from leaving the country only when they are checked immigration before boarding their flight.

A similar incident occurred on the weekend when the former head of the Fiji Law Society, Suva lawyer Graham Leung, was told he also was on the blacklist.   Later   Interim Prime Minister Bainimarama said Leung was banned for ‘spreading lies about the interim government overseas.’

So far no reasons have been given for the travel ban against Shamima Ali, but both instances are expected to prompt legal cases in the already backed up courts.

Ali says preventing her from traveling is a violation of her civil liberties under the Bill of Rights and questions whether Fiji’s Constitution is intact. She said she does not know the specifics of why she was stopped from leaving under an order from the (interim) Home Affairs Ministry’s permanent secretary Parmesh Chand.   She said when she contacted Chand, no reason was given and she was told that the matter was being referred to Commander Bainimarama.

Section 34 of Fiji’s Constitution deals with the “freedom of movement” stating that “every citizen has the right to enter and remain in Fiji. Section 30 promises the every citizen’s “right to freedom of speech and expression”.  These rights can only be limited “in the interests of national security, public safety, public order, public morality or public health”.

Ali says that she fears one of the repercussions of the interim administration current violations of liberties under the Bill of Rights is that it would set precedence for more aggressive violations in the future.